Here's why. Standing in front of a political backdrop - "Protecting America" - to underscore his message, Bush made a three-point argument Monday for how the Iraq war had made Americans safer. First, a tyrant had been removed. Second, U.S. efforts to foster democracy were transforming Iraq into "an example" for the region. And third, Iraqi and U.S. forces were fighting terrorists.

I won't dispute point #1. Yes, we did remove a tyrant. But that begs the question...What did we replace said tyrant with?

Point #2 is a joke, particularly with all the law-free zones in Iraqi prisons and in light of Iraqi prime ministers who execute insurgents personally with a handgun. An example for the region? That's not the kind of example I'd want to set.

As for point #3, do we have to go over this nonsense about the connection between Iraq and 9/11? There is none. We're fighting terrorists, but they're largely terrorists of our own creation. When you overthrow a dictatorial regime in the Middle East, there are bound to be uprisings and insurgencies that use terrorist tactics to achieve their goals. Think 15-year-old boys would strap on bomb belts and blow up U.S. checkpoints if we hadn't invaded in the first place? I doubt it.